Should you publish your ebook as a Kindle ebook, or DRM-free on the web?

Paul Jarvis offers a thorough discussion of the pros and cons. In summary:

- Publishing on Kindle is much easier. If you want to focus on writing your book and getting it out there rather than promoting and supporting it, choose this.- Online sales platforms can make more money if you're prepared to put in the time. You can charge a higher price, create value add packages, and build a contact list of customers.

“thinking that a really great idea is 90 percent of the work. The problem with that is that there is a tremendous amount of craftsmanship in between a great idea and a great product and as you evolve the great idea, it changes and grows. It never comes out as it starts.”

Apple is never about earth shattering ideas. MP3 players, smartphones, and tablet computers all existed for years before Apple got involved. But they were the first company to produce truly great products in any of those categories.

These products weren't great because of one big idea. They were great because of hundreds or thousands of small trade-offs, smart assumptions, and tiny choices that refined and developed the idea to make it a commercial success that customers loved.

This is painful work. Sometimes you have to make decisions that make your idea worse — the decision to do without 3G in the original iPhone must have been a painful and risky one. But you can’t make a great product without it.﻿

China has issued a detailed reform roadmap, which promises to abolish the controversial labor camp system and allow some families to have two children instead of one. The reforms are part of a plan to stimulate the decelerating Chinese economy.﻿

China has issued a detailed reform roadmap, which promises to abolish the controversial labor camp system and allow some families to have two children instead of one. The reforms are part of a plan to stimulate the decelerating Chinese economy.

"The developer’s most powerful emotion is laziness", and this video teaches you how to appeal to lazy developers. Happiness, sadness, and love come and go — but a developer’s laziness is always there....

People moan about selfies showing us how self centred we've all begun. But photography has always been a self directed medium -- something we use to canonize our own personal experiences or our own moments -- births, weddings, holidays, or wild nights out. The selfie is just the next logical step.

When an internationally respected newspaper's most popular piece of content is an interactive quiz about the reader's identity, you have to wonder what's happening to news. It turns out that whatever's happening in the world, there is nothing so fascinating as ourselves.﻿

Short answer: NO. The data looks at purchases on a price comparison site, and doesn't tell us much at all about the behavior of the typical consumer.

Over the weekend a Boing Boing article did the rounds. It looked at book pricing and purchase data in the US and the UK and came to a surprising conclusion: In the US, the "revenue maximizing" price for a typical ebook is about $10. In the UK, it is about $1.

So... what does the analysis mean for pricing ebooks? How should you address these two big English-speaking markets?

First, he analysis is not based on a random or representative sample of ebook buyers. Instead it comes from ebook price comparison site, Luzme (http://luzme.com/). Thus we are looking at a particularly price sensitive group of customers here -- customers who will shop around for a bargain, and not commit to any one platform.

The ebook business in the UK appears to have more variable pricing, meaning that shopping around is rewarded more. Luzme's own analysis pointed to this... but until you realize that they're a price comparison site it doesn't make much sense, because most people don't shop around for ebooks. But for those that do, the degree of bargain available is larger in the UK.

If you use Luzme in the US right now, the "best price" for the 5 best selling books listed on the homepage would be 42% less than the 5th best price. So, by shopping around you could save 42%.

But the UK version of the site offers you 64% off compared to the 5th best... saving half as much again.

Luzme's data showing Britain's love of a bargain needs to be treated with caution. What it actually shows is that British users of Luzme save more than American users. In the UK, it pays to shop around for ebooks.

The data doesn't tell us the optimum list price for a book in either market. It does tell us that some people will pay a high price, and lots people will pay a low price. If you can find a way to sell high most of the time, and cut the price low occasionally for everybody else, you get the best of both worlds.﻿

XBox has strong share in a dying market.Bing has weak share and little sign of getting better.

Elop must be right to at least consider divesting both of them.

Looks like he might consider letting Windows die too, shifting the focus to software that does useful things rather than just making the computer work:

Elop’s potential strategy is said to involve maximizing sales of Office instead of using it to push Windows PC and tablet sales. Microsoft’s Office and server software has been performing well in recent financial results, while Windows continues to struggle alongside a declining PC industry.

I've ordered from Royal Palace twice, the first time because our (ex-)usual is closed Mondays. Both times:
- Food arrived earlier than promised
- Delicious taste
- Generous portions
- Free extra starters
It's not the cheapest out there but the points above make it great value. Try it!

I love Pop Tate's. A wonderful place that I end up visiting every evening I'm in Mumbai if I can get away with it. Their Pepper Blasted Paneer is the best food in the world. They have now increased the number of official Pop Tate's customer toilets, slightly reducing the chance that you'll have to use the foul urinals downstairs.
Go here!

Usually getting a take away in a holiday town is disappointing. Not here. The price is reasonable and so are the portion sizes. The food tastes just the way a Chinese takeaway should. Don't hesitate, get your oriental fix here.

Very very poor and dangerous. Had a part worn tyre fitted there for £25. Turns out it had a nail in it. 2 days later I'm now in ATS having a brand new tyre fitted for £60.
Thankful these cowboys only cost me £25 and not me and my family's lives.